These days, nothing seems to be immune to the global recession. The ongoing economic downturn, most evident in the wealthy Western world, has found a new victim: international development aid. According to a report by the OECD, major donors' aid to developing countries fell by nearly 3% in 2011, breaking a long trend of annual increases. But experts argue that recipients may not necessarily suffer if donor countries can maintain policy assistance in other areas, such as investment and trade.

So, how is the decrease in aid affecting developing countries? And what efforts can be made to compensate for the loss in funding?

Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.

We talk to Yasmin Ahmad, Manager of the Data Collections Unit in the Statistics and Monitoring Division of the Development Cooperation Directorate of the OECD and Geert Laporte, Deputy Director of the European Centre for Development Policy Management.

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These days, nothing seems to be immune to the global recession. The ongoing economic downturn, most evident in the wealthy Western world, has found a new victim: international development aid. According to a report by the OECD, major donors' aid to developing countries fell by nearly 3% in 2011, breaking a long trend of annual increases. But experts argue that recipients may not necessarily suffer if donor countries can maintain policy assistance in other areas, such as investment and trade.

So, how is the decrease in aid affecting developing countries? And what efforts can be made to compensate for the loss in funding?

Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, bringing you insights into the headline news in China and around the world, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.

We talk to Yasmin Ahmad, Manager of the Data Collections Unit in the Statistics and Monitoring Division of the Development Cooperation Directorate of the OECD and Geert Laporte, Deputy Director of the European Centre for Development Policy Management.